Who will play in the playoffs of a CS2 major for the first time? The main newcomers at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024
Playing in a big stadium in the playoffs of a Counter-Strike major is a great honor for every esports player. Getting to the final eight is not an easy task and sometimes it takes several attempts or your entire professional career. The newcomers at the decisive stage are sometimes not even young talents, but experienced, older esportsmen who have previously failed to reach such a level. In this article we will talk about players for whom the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 playoffs were the first in their careers.
Danil donk Kryshkovets and Myroslav zont1x Plakhotia
The main newcomer to the major playoffs at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 was Danil donk Kryshkovets. Despite the short history of the roster, three Team Spirit players have already competed in the final stage of Valve championships. Leonid chopper Vishnyakov and Boris magixx Vorobiev reached 3-4 place at PGL Major Antwerp 2022 in one of the club’s old rosters, and Dmitry sh1ro Sokolov achieved the same result together with Gambit Esports at PGL Major Stockholm 2021.
In addition to Danil donk Kryshkovets, Myroslav zont1x Plakhotia also made it to his first playoffs at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024. The players performed well at the tournament, but their path to the playoffs ended after a meeting with FaZe Clan. In the quarterfinals, the team from the CIS was not like itself, perhaps a lot of pressure was exerted by the huge audience and the excitement of some members of the roster. But even with these factors, the team had a chance of a comeback, but they could not break such an experienced team as FaZe Clan, led by Finn karrigan Andersen.
Eternal Fire
Turkish teams have never been able to jump above their capabilities and reach the playoffs of CS:GO majors. But at PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, Eternal Fire broke this trend. All of its participants have not previously competed in the final stage of Valve championships, except for Ozgur woxic Eker. The esports player was able to get into the playoffs of FACEIT Major 2018 along with Hellraisers, but then her path stopped in the quarterfinals against Team Liquid.
The Eternal Fire roster is also one of the oldest in Valve’s Major Playoffs history. The average age of the team is 26 years, and the oldest player is Engin MAJ3R Kupeli – he is already 33 years old. The main star of Turkey – Ismailkan XANTARES Dortkardes also reached the playoffs at the end of his career – at the age of 28 years. The only young talent of the team is 19-year-old Ali Wicadia Haydar Yalcin.
Eternal Fire have come a long way to the Major playoffs. There is a high probability that it will not be her last, because the transition to CS2 has had a positive effect on Turkish esportsmen: their playing style is perfectly suited to the changes in the mechanics of the shooter.
Jimi Jimpphat Salo
The PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 playoffs will be the first real test of MOUZ’s main star – Jimi Jimpphat Salo. Perhaps he would have made it to the major and its final stage earlier, but the esportsman had a VAC ban and could not take part in official tournaments until 2023.
Jimpphat has already become the best player on the Elimination Stage, but has not yet said his last word. After the elimination of Team Spirit, MOUZ became the main favorite for the championship title. If Jimi Salo can handle the pressure on the big stage, he can definitely lead the team to a well-deserved victory.
Ilya m0NESY Osipov
It was quite strange to see one of the best players in the world on this list. But Ilya m0NESY Osipov will actually play in the playoffs of a major for the first time. At PGL Major Antwerp 2022 and BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, G2 Esports failed to overcome the legends stage.
PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 would have been another failure for the esportsman, but he was given a chance by the departure of Jami Jame Ali from the server on Inferno. The new squad of the club performs rather mediocrely and hardly deserves its place in the playoffs. But Ilya m0NESY Osipov deserves to be on the Royal Arena, even if it is his personal merit and not a team achievement. After moving to CS2, m0NESY began to play even more confidently and clearly has a chance to become the best player of the year. Most likely, PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 will be the last tournament as part of G2 Esports, but, nevertheless, the team will compete in the playoffs with the strongest opponents.
Shahar flameZ Shushan
The talent of Shahar flameZ Shushan was noticeable to the whole world even during his performance in OG. But the organization has never had rosters that can claim high places. He played for the club at IEM Rio Major 2022 and BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023, but the team could not even get past the Challengers stage. Shahar flameZ Shushan stood out from his teammates at all tournaments and large organizations could not help but pay attention to him. One of these was Team Vitality. Despite the fact that the esportsman had not previously performed at the highest level, he perfectly joined the best team in the world and became another star of the club. With such experienced teammates, flameZ should not feel pressure on the big stage, especially with the rabid support of the Team Vitality fan sector.
The playoff stage, like the major itself, often breaks esports players who play there for the first time. A similar situation happened with Team Spirit, who were an invincible team and the main favorite of PGL Major Copenhagen 2024; they were unable to show the same level of play as before. We will see how the rest of the playoff newcomers finish their performance at the major very soon. Perhaps one of them will become Valve’s new tournament champion.